Neuroanatomy Flashcards

week 5

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

what is the telencephalon?

A
  • cerebrum (outside= cortex, inside= subcortical regions)
  • part of the forebrain
  • contails the basal ganglia
  • divided symetrically left and right cerebral hemispheres (cross-lateralisation)
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2
Q

what are the sub-regions of the telencephalon?

A
  • cerebral coretx= thin outer layer of neural tissure, responsible for many “high-order” functions
  • Limbic system: interconnected nuclei & cortical structures located in telencephalon & diencephalon important for olfaction (smell), emotions, learning & memory
  • Basal Ganglia: Group of nuclei located beneath cortical surface vital for movement
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3
Q

what is the cerebral cortex substructure?

A
  • Cortex surface enlarged (x3) by folding
  • Gyrus: bulges
  • Sulcus: small grooves
    • Fissure: large grooves (larger sulci)
    • Rostral region= front (nasal side)
    • Prominent features:
  • central sulcus
  • lateral fissure
  • longitudinal fissure
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4
Q

what is grey matter?

A

the cerebral cortex- outer layer composed of cell bodies, dendrites & glia

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5
Q

what is white matter?

A

Inner layer composed of myelinated axons

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6
Q

what are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex?

A
  1. Frontal lobe (blue): anterior part of cortex, rostral to parietal lobe & dorsal to temporal lobe
    ○ Rostral to the parietal lobe
  2. Parietal lobe (yellow): caudal to frontal lobe & dorsal to temporal lobe
  3. Occipital lobe (red): caudal to parietal & temporal lobes
    * Most caudal
  4. Temporal lobe (green): rostral to occipital lobe & ventral to parietal & frontal lobes
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7
Q

which lobe of the cerebral cortex is ventral to the parietal lobe?

A

temporal lobe

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8
Q

which lobe of the cerebral cortex is caudal to the temporal lobe?

A

occipital lobe

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9
Q

what is the prefrontal cortex?

A

the most rosteral region of the cortex
* planning and strategies
* 2 main parts:
1. executive functioning (schizophrenia & depression), higher order thinking, goal directed
2. personality, impuse control and mood (addiction), decision making, growth and development

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10
Q

what is the prefrontal cortex?

A
  • Central location of cognitive control and functioning
  • Main site of action for dopamine regulating attention, impulse inhibition, memory, cognitive flexibility, motivation, reward management, personality.
  • Coordinates voluntary movement
  • Planning
  • Higher order thinking
  • Emotional expression
  • Language production (Broca’s area)
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11
Q

what are the main fucntions of the prefrontal cortex?

A
  • Executive functions:
    • Self-control
    • Planning
    • decision making
      Unlikely one single brain region controls each.
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12
Q

what are the sensory fucntions of the primary cortex?

A
  • 3 primary sensory cortices:
    1. Primary visual cortex: occipital lobe
    2. Primary auditory cortex: temporal lobe
    3. Primary somatosensory cortex: parietal lobe
  • Predominantly processed contralaterally
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13
Q

what are the main motor fucntions of the cerebral cortex?

A
  • primary motor cortex contrls the voluntary movements of the skeletal muscls
  • located in the front of the central sulcus (frontal lobe)
  • connections are contrelateral
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14
Q

what are association cortices?

A

recieve information from relevant primary cortices.

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15
Q

what is the sesnory association cortex?

A
  • Perception & memories
  • Located behind central sulcus
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16
Q

what is the motor association cortex?

A
  • Directly controls PMC and thus behaviour
  • Includes premotor cortex
  • Located in front of PMC
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17
Q

what is the function of the parietal lobe?

A
  • Perception of awareness and space
  • Somatosensory cortex that integrated all the sensory systems
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18
Q

what is the function of the temporal lobe?

A
  • Recognition, identification and awareness
  • Auditory cortex
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19
Q

what is the fucntion of the occipital lobe?

A
  • processing of visual information from the retina
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20
Q

what is meant by the term lateralisation?

A
  • Two hemispheres do not perform identical functions
  • Lateralised: Some functions primarily located on 1 side
    ○ Left hemisphere: info analysis, recognising serial events, controlling sequences of behaviour
    ○ Right hemisphere: synthesis of information (holistic)
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21
Q

what are the fucntions of the left side of the brain?

A
  • analytical thought
  • detail oriented perception
  • orded sequencing
  • rational thought
  • verbal
  • cautios
  • planning
  • maths/science
  • logic
  • right field vision
  • right side motor skills
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22
Q

what are the fucntions of the right side of the brain?

A
  • intuitive thought
  • holistic perception
  • random sequencing
  • emotional thought
  • non-verbal
  • adventurous
  • impulsive
  • creative writing/ art
  • imagination
  • left field vision
  • left side motor skills
23
Q

what is the corpus callosum?

A
  • large bundle of axons
  • interconnects corresponding regions of cortex on each hemisphere
24
Q

why do patients have the split brain surgery?

A

to cure severe epilepsy

25
Q

what does the split brain surgery tell us about the human brain?

A

Each side of the brain work through communicating to the other

26
Q

what is the split brain surgery?

A
  • Corpus Callosum cut (relieves epileptic seizures)
    ○ Two hemispheres operate independently
  • Speech: left-hemisphere
    ○ Only left can communicate it’s actions or thoughts
  • Reports of left and right hemispheres conflicting
  • Olfactory information is an exception to contralateral representation of sensory information
27
Q

what is the limbic system?

A

cortical and subcortical structures concerned with emotions

28
Q

what are the 3 central regions that are part of the limbic system?

A
  1. Amygdala
  2. Hippocampus
  3. Singular gyrus: innovated the limbic loan.
    * Also includes the mammillary bodies and the fornix with are relays for the emotions.
29
Q

what is the hippocampus?

A
  • forebrain structure of temporal lobe
  • looks like a sea horse
30
Q

what are the main fucntions of the hippocampus?

A
  • learning and memory (imcluding limbic cortex)
  • storing and retrieving explicit memories
  • helps with directions
31
Q

what was HM’s condition?

A

cracked his head when he fell and experienced seizures as a result

32
Q

how did patient HM’s seizures affect his abilities?

A
  • Dropped out of high school
  • Memory after removing hippocampus was effected
  • Only slight episodic memory.
33
Q

what did patient HM’s surgery teach us about memory?

A
    1. Removed the hippocampus, most of his memories were forgotten and he couldn’t make anymore memories.
  • Redefined what memory even meant: although he couldn’t form new memories, he could still remember basic information to finish a sentence or find a certain room
  • Memory may not be stored throughout the brain
  • Distinction between short term and long term memory- different brain regions
  • Remember information for 15 minutes if continuously recited, forgot the test took place 5 minutes later.
  • Without hippocampus to perform memory consolidation- memory was forgotten
  • Unconscious motor centres remembered what the conscious mind had forgotten- had to draw a third star between two others.
  • Procedural memories were intact.
34
Q

what is the amygdala?

A
  • In the interior of rostral temporal lobe
  • Set of nuclei
  • along with regions of the limbic cortex, it is involved in multiple aspects of emotions.
  • Vital for decoding emotion, particularly to threatening stimuli
  • Fight or flight (and stress)= central region
  • Activates brain regions to release adrenaline and ACTH.
35
Q

what are the main functions of the amygdala?

A
  • Fear, fear learning & aggression: stress and self-defence
  • Turning on stress response:
  • Adrenaline
  • AcTH → Cortisol
  • Stress responses to threatening stimuli
  • Fight or flight
  • Automatic: real & perceived threats
36
Q

what would happen if we didnt have an amygdala?

A

we would have no fear resonse or fight or flight.

37
Q

how do the amygdala and hippocampus work together?

A
  • The amygdala and hippocampus work together
  • Amygdala receives connections from hippocampus
  • Why strong emotions may be triggered by memories
    ○ e.g., PTSD
  • Reduced hippocampal volume
  • Reduced ventromedial prefrontal cortex
  • Increased activity of amygdala
38
Q

what do patients with impaired amygdala activity show?

A

lack of loss aversion (“unafraid” to gamble)

39
Q

what is the cingulate girus?

A
  • Part of limbic cortex
  • Occupies subcortical region of the limbic lobe.
  • Located above corpus callosum
  • Related to managing emotions
  • Relay system
40
Q

what are mammilary bodies?

A
  • Protrusion on bottom of brain
  • Memory recollection
  • Link with hippocampus through the hypothalamus
  • Links with the hypothalamus through the fornix
  • Part of hypothalamus
41
Q

what is the fornix?

A
  • Bundle of axons connecting hippocampus to brain regions including mammillary bodies
  • Largest pathway through the brain.
42
Q

what is the basal ganglia?

A
  • Part of telencephalon
  • Related to control of movement
  • Group of subcortical nuclei
  • Tightly interconnected
  • Involved in control of movement (and procedural memory)
  • Links to cerebellum
43
Q

what is the fucntion of the basal ganglia?

A
  • Process info from several regions of cerebral cortex
  • Returns info to motor cortex via thalamus
  • Helps process information that is sent to the thalamus
  • Operating in conjunction with a loop involving the cerebellum
  • Select & trigger well co-ordinated voluntary movements
  • Important in Parkinson’s & Huntington’s disease
44
Q

what is the diencephalon?

A
  • Division of forebrain
    • Located between telencephalon & mesencephalon (midbrain)
      ○ Mediates the two
    • Surrounding the third ventricle
    • Two main structures:
      thalamus & hypothalamus
45
Q

whata re the main fucntions of the diencephalon?

A
  • Relays sensory information (Thalamus)
    • Controls many autonomic functions of PNS Connects endocrine system to NS (hypothalamus)
    • Involved in emotions and memories alongside limbic system (hypothalamus)
      ○ Start of the endocrine system
      ○ Chemical mechanism of communication
      § Last longer
      Electrical impulses throughout the system
46
Q

what is the structure of the thalamus?

A
  • Largest portion of diencephalon
    • Means “inner chamber”
      ○ Key part between the cerebrum cortex, cerebellum and midbrain
    • Dorsal part of diencephalon
    • Two lobes connected by bridge of grey matter (Massa intermedia) which pierces middle of third ventricle
      Made up of a number of nuclei
47
Q

what are the main fucntions of the thalamus?

A
  • Receiving and relaying auditory, visual and somatosensory sensory signals to the cerebral cortex
    ○ gateway to the cortex
    ○ Mediator and relays information between the body and the cerebrum cortex.
    ○ Controls levels of arousal and tiredness levels.
    • Controlling sleep and awake states
    • Motor control
    • Memory and emotions
      Linked to the RAS (recirculatory activation system)
48
Q

what is the thalamic nuclei?

A
  • Some nuclei are involved in general excitability of cerebral cortex
    • Other nuclei act as relay stations for sensory and non-sensory information
      ○ Emotional memory
    • Non-sensory (motor) information:
      ○ Ventrolateral nucleus
    • Sensory information:
      ○ Lateral geniculate nucleus (vision)
      Medial geniculate nucleus (audition)
49
Q

which lobe of the cerebral cortex is caudal to the temporal lobe?

A

occipital

50
Q

which lobe of the brain is responsible for higher order thinking?

A

frontal

51
Q

which lobe of the brain is responsible for comprehension of language?

A

temporal

52
Q

which lobe of the brain is responsibel for understanding where we are in spcae and time?

A

parietal

53
Q

which lobe of the brain is responsible fro language production?

A

frontal